Regulations for the convention

In the event of any inconsistency or discrepancy between the English version and any other language versions of this publication, the Polish language version shall prevail.

1. The Warsaw Festival of Japanese Culture Animatsuri 2024, hereinafter referred to as the “Festival”, takes place from 26 to 28 July 2024 at the Warszawskie Centrum EXPO XXI (Warsaw EXPO XXI Center), located at Prądzyńskiego 12/14 Street in Warsaw, hereinafter abbreviated as “EXPO XXI”.
2. The Festival is organised by the Animatsuri Association under KRS number 0000332054, hereinafter referred to as the Association of Organiser.
3. The Festival is a social event taking place on private premises and is not subject to the provisions of the Act on Security of Mass Events of 20.03.2010 (Dz.U. [Journal of Laws] No. 62, pos. 504.). The accreditation fees paid by the participants are treated as a donation to support the Association in covering the costs of organising the event. The organisers are volunteers and derive no financial benefit from their work.
4. The Festival is a closed event, which means that only people who are members of the Association, supporters of the Association or people invited by the organisation can attend it.
5. The Festival is not a form of an organised holiday within the meaning of the Education System Act of 7 September 1991 (Dz.U. 1991 No. 95 pos. 425).
6. Any person who is not a member of the Association but wishes to participate in the event must pay an accreditation fee of a specified amount. Upon paying the fee, the said person, hereinafter referred to as Participant, becomes a supporting member of the Association for the duration of the Festival. This regulation does not apply to volunteers and other persons invited by the Organiser.
7. Persons under the age of seven do not have to pay the accreditation fee provided that they are accompanied by a parent or a legal guardian during the Festival. Persons who are older than seven and younger than twelve years may pay half the accreditation fee provided that they are accompanied by a parent or a legal guardian during the Festival and present a valid school ID. In both cases, the parent or legal guardian must pay the full amount of the accreditation fee. Children under the age of seven are forbidden from walking on the Festival grounds without any supervision.
8. Participation in the event is confirmed by a coloured wristband provided by the Festival. It must be shown whenever the Organisers or the Patrol call upon it.
9. Issuing a duplicate of a lost wristband is associated with a contractual penalty, which is an additional fee amounting to the previously paid fee. Wristbands showing signs of breakage (e.g. by tying the two ends together) are invalid and are subject to exchange for a duplicate with the aforementioned contractual penalty.
10. Day pass badges entitle the holder to stay on the Festival premises until 11 p.m. on Friday 28 July and Saturday 29 July and until 2 p.m. on Sunday 30 July 2023.
11. Each person arriving at the Festival is required to present a valid ID with a photo and a date of birth or the QR code from the booking system entitling them to collect their accreditation from the accreditation staff. In addition, minors are required to bring and hand over to the accreditation staff a minor attendee chart filled in by a parent or legal guardian, or their written consent in case they are not present at the Festival.
12. The data provided when booking a place and collecting badges is used only for record–keeping and security reasons and is processed in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act of 10.05.2018 (Dz.U. 2018 pos. 1000). After the Festival all the sensitive data is deleted.
13. The Festival area is the space of EXPO XXI. Participants are allowed in the Festival area from 5 P.M. on Friday 26th July until 2 P.M. on Sunday 28th July 2024.
14. No animals are allowed in the Festival area. This prohibition does not apply to guide animals of persons with disabilities or animals being introduced as a teaching aid for lectures, which is agreed in advance with the organizers.
15. No objects which may constitute a threat to the health or life of the participants may be brought into the Festival area, in particular objects with an exposed blade, as well as chain weapons (flail, kusarigama, etc.) or their imitations, with the exception for the cases in which they are deprived of their functional properties (i.e.permanently attached pommel). The above also applies to items that imitate weapons such as props for cosplay purposes or ASG replicas. The final decision on whether items can be brought in is made by the Patrol Chief or their designee after mandatory inspection.
16. The Patrol and the Organizers will deposit items not approved by the control referred to in point 15. They have the right to refuse entry or remove any person from the event would they not agree to hand over said items. Deposited items may be made available for a specific purpose e.g. for the duration of the cosplay competition or a photoshoot. In any other case, they will be stored until the end of the Festival or if their owner decides to leave earlier.
17. During the Festival it is forbidden to point an approved weapon or any other dangerous instrument at another participant, except for the cases where they have explicitly consented to it (e.g. when posing for photos).
18. It is strictly forbidden to possess and consume alcoholic beverages, or psychotropic and narcotic drugs in the Festival area. If any of the above items are found in a participant’s possession, they will be immediately confiscated, and if the participant causes problems, they will be disciplinarily removed from the Festival area. In extreme cases, the Police might be called in.
19. Smoking and the use of electronic nicotine inhalers (e.g. liquids, e-cigarettes, etc.) and tobacco warmers are strictly prohibited in the buildings located within the Festival area.
20. The organizers are not responsible for the moral and health damages to the Festival Participants. Personal accident insurance should be purchased by each Participant on their own prior to the beginning of the Festival.
21. The organizers are not responsible for items lost or left unattended.
22. Persons under the influence of intoxicants and stimulants, or alcohol, or behaving aggressively or vulgarly will be disciplinarily removed from the Festival area. In extreme cases, the Police may be called in.
23. The Organizers are not liable for material damage caused by Festival Participants – their perpetrators will be held accountable using personal data provided to the Association. This also applies to the irresponsible use of the lift in building A in the Festival area.
24. Priority of using the lift is first and foremost given to persons with reduced mobility, followed by the Festival Staff, and in particular the volunteers of the Medical Section who, due to the nature of their duties, often need to get to the venue in the shortest possible time. Every participant should responsibly use the lift.
25. Each advertising action, such as hanging posters, distribution of any advertising materials (leaflets, brochures, etc.) and the like must be consulted with the Organisers in advance. Violation of this point may be punished with disciplinary removal from the Festival area as well as financial consequences.
26. Each participant is obliged to behave in a civilized manner, to clean up after themselves and to comply with the decisions of the Organizers, Festival Staff and the Patrol.
27. Only the Organizers and persons authorized by them may stay in the rooms and areas designated for the Organisers.
28. Compliance with the Rules and Regulations is supervised by the Organisers, Festival Staff and the Patrol.
29. The organisers reserve the right to change and supplement the Festival programme. In addition, if at least 10% of the planned program events on a given day of the Festival fail to take place and the Organizer is not able to organize substitute attractions of comparable value at that time, part or all of the accreditation fee might be reimbursed.
30. Opinions presented by the Speakers and other creators during the Festival belong exclusively to them and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Organizer.
31. The photos and videos of participants taken during the event may be used to promote other events of the Organiser.
32. Persons failing to comply with the Rules and Regulations may be disciplinarily removed from the Festival area.
33. A participant relegated outside the convention in the case of persistent or significant violations of the rules, or the law, may be punished with a ban on entry to the Organizer’s future events of a permanent, or temporary nature. The decision is made each time by the Patrol Chief.
34. By accrediting themselves to the Festival, each person automatically confirms their knowledge of the Rules. The Rules and Regulations will be available for inspection at the accreditation and information desks. In addition, it is available on the Festival’s website: https://festiwal.animatsuri.pl/regulaminy/regulamin-imprezy.
35. Resignation from the reservation with the refund of the accreditation fee is possible until July 19th, 2024. After this date, a refund of the accreditation fee is not possible. The refunded accreditation fee may be reduced by an administrative fee.
36. In the event of the need to introduce restrictions related to the SARS-CoV-2 (or other) virus epidemic, the Organisers reserve the right to introduce a sanitary regime in accordance with the applicable regulations.
37. Festival participants who show symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection may be forced to leave the Festival area without reimbursement of the accreditation fee.
38. Ignorance of the content of these Regulations does not exempt from the consequences of non-compliance with them.
39. In the event of a fortuitous event, such as the declaration of national mourning, an epidemiological threat, or a serious accident in the Festival area, as well as other fortuitous reasons which make it impossible to organise the Festival and which are beyond the Organiser’s control, the Organiser has the right to cancel the event, change the date or venue without prior notice.
40. In matters not included in these Rules, the relevant provisions of the Civil Code and the Criminal Code shall be applied.
41. The above regulations are binding for all Festival Participants, as well as Special Guests, representatives of the Press, Exhibitors, Patrol, Creators of Attractions, Festival Staff and the Organisers and other people who are on the grounds of the Festival during its duration.